VfB Stuttgart vs. Eintracht Frankfurt preview: Huge clash betweeen European chasers
| Stuttgart are looking to jump into the top four with a win against Eintracht Frankfurt. | Lars Baron/Getty Images |
Stuttgart
Stuttgart could not have wished for a better result last time out, as Sebastian Hoeneß's men picked up a 4-1 win against Bayer Leverkusen, with four first-half goals sealing their first win at the BayArena since 2018.
VfB's front three shone under the lights on Saturday, with Chris Führich, Deniz Undav and Jamie Leweling having a hand in all four goals - the latter netting a brace.
Die Schwaben sit fifth in the standings, level on points with RB Leipzig and Leverkusen ahead of them. A win in their final match of the Hinrunde would put them in an excellent position heading into the second half of the term.
Team news
The defensive injuries within Stuttgart's ranks eased over the weekend, with both Finn Jeltsch and Lorenz Assignon making an appearance against Leverkusen - something not initially expected.
Bilal El Khannouss remains on international duty with Morocco, while Ameen Al Dakhil, Dan-Axel Zagadou, Luca Jawuez, Lazar Jovanovic and Tiago Tomas will all miss the midweek action.
Predicted lineup - 4-3-3: Nübel - Assignon, Hendriks, Chabot, Mittelstädt - Chema, Siller, Nartey - Lewewling, Undav, Führich
Eintracht Frakfurt
Much like their hosts, Frankfurt also took part in a big top-end clash last time out, with Die Adler sharing the spoils with Borussia Dortmund after a 3-3 draw on home soil.
Mahmoud Dahoud thought that he had picked up a late winner on Friday evening after a lovely strike found the back of the net in the 92nd minute, before Carney Chukwuemeka equalised in the dying moments for BVB.
A big positive up top for Frankfurt was the introduction of Younes Ebnoutalib, who scored his first Bundesliga goal on his debut following his move from Elversberg.
Only Heidenheim and Wolfsburg have conceded more Bundesliga goals than Dino Toppmöller's side, who will have to tighten up at the back on the road against a Stuttgart side in fine goalscoring form.
Team news
Jean Mateo Bahoya is a doubt ahead of the fixture, while Jonathan Burkardt is not expected to return to the fold until the end of the month.
Elias Baum and Michy Batshuayi will also stay on the sidelines until closer to springtime.
Predicted lineup - 3-4-2-1: Santos - Kristensen, Koch, Theate - Doan, Dahoud, Larsson, Brown - Uzun, Knauff - Ebnoutalib
